What’s the longest a team can keep their opponents from scoring at the start of an NBA game?
The New York Knicks sought the answer when they hosted the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
The historical benchmark is held by the Showtime-era Los Angeles Lakers, who famously kept the 1987 Sacramento Kings without a point until just 2:54 remained in the first quarter.
Securing second place in this unique record, the Knicks dominated the Jazz with a 146-112 triumph, marking their sixth victory in seven games. This commanding performance began with a first quarter that effectively ended the contest before it truly began at Madison Square Garden.
The total of 146 points represented the seventh highest by any team in a game this season.
The Knicks initiated the match with an impressive 23-0 run, denying the Jazz a single point until 5:38 remained in the initial quarter. They concluded the opening period with a 41-13 lead, notching their league-leading 11th 40-point quarter of the season.
“They’re playing really fast. They’re taking advantage of transition possessions. I feel like the dribble-drive is happening more,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said ahead of tipoff on Friday. “We spent all day today talking to our team about how much pressure they’re putting on the paint, what they’re doing to generate catch-and-shoot threes.
“There are definitely a lot of similarities [to last year’s team] because the players ultimately dictate your style. There’s a lot of Jalen Brunson that looks familiar to me, but I feel like the spacing they’re playing with and the dribble-drive provides some different looks. I think it gives their personnel a lot of opportunities to play off of close-outs, but it’s till early in the season. I would anticipate 20 games from now you see differences from tonight’s game. The dribble-drive is probably what worries me the most.”
Utah’s 13 opening points tied for the fourth-fewest points scored by any team in any quarter this season after the Golden State Warriors mustered 10 in the first quarter of their 99-98 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. And unlike big leads built in games past, the Knicks didn’t fork this one up easily.
What was a 20-point lead coming out of the half ballooned into an overwhelming 41-point advantage in the waning minutes of the third quarter. And by the top of the fourth quarter, there were no starters in sight. Mike Brown pulled the plug and let his reserves play the rest of the way.
Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 33 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 shooting from three-point range, and Miles McBride added another 22 points, resuming his role as a flamethrower off the bench with OG Anunoby returning to the starting lineup on Friday.
Anunoby, who head coach Mike Brown said would operate under a minutes restriction, logged 23 minutes and finished with 11 points on 50% shooting in his return from a hamstring injury sustained on Nov. 15. Brown returned the starting lineup that served the Knicks well under Tom Thibodeau last season with Anunoby starting alongside Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart.
“They played well together last year. So I did look at that,” he said ahead of tipoff. “But again, whether it’s right or wrong, I’m not a huge proponent of starting the five guys that are going to end the game. To me, who ends the game is a much bigger deal. But at the end of the day if something is best for our team then I’m going to try to go that direction.”
That’s the good thing about a blowout. Brown emptied his bench entering the final period, with rookie Mohamed Diawara and second-year prospects Tyler Kolek and Ariel Hukporti getting extended run alongside offseason additions Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele. And he still coached it as if the starters were on the floor, calling timeouts to address two separate defensive miscues made by the reserves.
The Knicks need that rest time. Because now they must prepare themselves. They are winners in six of their last seven games, but only two of those seven opponents boast winning records. Next up, the Knicks host the Orlando Magic, who have a 2-0 season series advantage through the first two meetings between these teams.
For the Magic, Paolo Banchero is back in action, but for the Knicks, Anunoby, too, is back, setting the stage for fireworks at The Garden on Sunday.
